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Wednesday, 20 February 2013

Glam rock met pop art in an ornate British palace in St James, courtesy of Mr. Tom Ford,February 18th.
It was, effectively, his first fully public comeback runway show since
he founded his own label. and it hit an exuberant none-too-serious note.
There are plenty of people doing black and gray and sensible tailoring
this season. Tom Ford, instead, cast himself as a standard-bearer for
all the maximalists and fun-lovers of the world, dealing out
multicolored sequined hoodies and bomber jackets, leopard-spotted
parkas, swishing Western fringe, flower-embroidered boots, and pop art
Shazam and Ka-Pow motifs by the yard. You might almost have suspected
Ford of reverting to his disco-partying years, except the song in the air
had the pointed refrain “stone cold sober.” Mr Ford, after all, is a
responsible new dad these days. Though perhaps having young Alexander
John Ford at home might’ve made him more playful.

Ford's label for the collection was “Cross Cultural Multi Ethnic” the words he
had printed on a discreet card left on the gold seats lining the grand
reception rooms of Lancaster House (it’s an ex-royal residence just a
stone’s throw from Prince Charles’ London home, Clarence House, and just
up the road from Buckingham Palace). The location might have lent
itself to an essay in upper-class Englishness, but thankfully, no.
Uptight British conventionality was not on the agenda at all, although
possibly the upcoming Lichtenstein retrospective at Tate Modern and the
“David Bowie Is” exhibition at the V&A might have been partially
responsible for Ford letting loose with so much color and pattern.
Besides, you can’t live in London long (as Ford does, on and off)
without being conscious of the fact that there’s a subcult amongst East
End fashion students and club-goers that adorns itself, head to toe, in
as much color as possible. It’s no stretch to imagine those kids going
absolutely crazy for Tom Ford’s floral sequined baggy-top boots and
eighties-style zig-zag-patterned varsity jackets. Vintage Chinese coats
and Japanese kimonos are currently being sported around Central Saint
Martins’ fashion classes, and there was an upgraded blue silk
flower-embroidered version with a vivid red fur collar on Ford’s runway.

Still, those living on student loans are hardly the multiethnic
market Mr. Ford aims for. His fast-growing business means he has
customers and stores on many continents, and what those customers look
for, presumably, is something vividly outstanding and glamorously sexy
from Tom Ford. That, they’ll get, if they so choose, in his fuchsia
patchworked fur and ponyskin coats (or even a whole, pencil-skirted
suit), in his shimmying beaded ponchos, and, if they’re daring, in the
see-through black lace skirts and column dresses. It all looked
beautifully made.